[JVesquire]

I hiked the popular loop in the Salmo-Priest Wilderness this weekend. This is a long drive from Seattle, but if you are looking for wilderness solitude, working Idaho into your backpacking plans, and a long drive, this might be the hike for you.

Number 11 in a collector's series

Dead tree

My Own Private Idaho

It was nice of the forest service to delineate the arbitrary political boundaries for me.

Leaving Washington.

I set up camp at the base of Snowy Top Mountain. So too did a group of deer, which loudly munched on forest greens all night long. They didn't seem to mind that I would periodically get out of my tent to shoo them away.

Unperturbed, I got up at 4:30 for breakfast, which finally scared them away. I sauntered a ways up Snowy Top until the going became a little too scrambly for me. The sun shortly appeared.

Gypsy Peak?

The rest of the hike ventures through a green valley floor to the South Salmo River. The forest service was also nice enough to let me know that I was reentering Washington.

Reentering the Wilderness

18 or so miles, lots of solitude, views galore. Except for the ridiculously long drive, this is a great hike.

[wakerobin]

Nice. This has been on my bucket list since I started backpacking. That drive though.